ANTI PASTI

Biography

The Anti-Pasti story so far...

Founded in 1978 in Derby, England, Anti-Pasti comprised of Martin Roper on vocals, Dugi Bell on guitar and with the addition of Stu Winfield on bass and Stan Smith on drums, released their debut EP, "Four Sore Points", featuring the all time punk rock classic "No Government", on their own Dose record label. They played many gigs in and around Derby and rapidly built up a large following.

Winfield and Smith were soon replaced by Kev Nixon on drums and Will Hoon on bass before the group signed to Rondelet Records and re-released their "Four Sore Points" EP and the new "Let Them Free" single in January 1981. Later that year, Anti-Pasti released their debut album, "The Last Call". It reached number 1 in the Indie Charts and spent seven weeks in the UK Albums Chart, peaking at No. 31. Their growing profile was confirmed when a third single, "Six Guns", appeared at the end of the year and reached number 1 in the UK Indie Chart, as did the successful joint venture with The Exploited on a 12" single EP, "Don't Let 'Em Grind You Down". Anti-Pasti along with Exploited and Discharge were part of the now legendary Apocalypse Now Tour which toured the UK in 1981.

Single "East To The West" was released in 1982, which preceded the final Anti-Pasti album and single, both titled "Caution In The Wind", which featured Will Hoon's brother Ollie on guitar. A self-titled singles retrospective surfaced a year later, but the group split in 1983 following the departure of Roper. There was a reunion in 1995, leading to mini-tours of the UK and Germany.

Anti-Pasti's 2012 line up consists of Martin Roper, Kev Nixon, Olli Hoon & Ben Hanson, three of the original five members.